


The Twins Series 2:  Twins Ransom

by KS_POI_Pretender_Fan



Series: The Twins Series [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Complete, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-09 14:38:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/775338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KS_POI_Pretender_Fan/pseuds/KS_POI_Pretender_Fan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone has kidnapped the Reese Twins. Can Mom and Dad get to them in time?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This is a sequel to Third Time's the Charm. That Fluffy piece I wasn't sure if I was going to do anything with? Well, yeah, thanks to a prompt from SassyJ we have a sequel. The Twins were a hit.

* * *

He watched her from across the street, the way she moved, always so graceful. She smiled her thanks to the barista as she left the coffee shop and walked back to her car. Soon, he would be the one she smiled at every day. He would be the one to take care of her and her girls. They would be a family.

As she drove away, he continued to watch her. It appeared as though she was headed into Manhattan today. Although he loathed being away from her, he knew she would be back; she always came back.

He didn't know who the father of her girls was. He had never met him and she never talks about him. Who would be an idiot to leave her all alone? His for the taking. His to make a life with.

She had no idea how he felt about her, not yet. But she would soon. It was time to progress their relationship a step further. He had to have her, not matter what it took.

* * *

Zoe sighed as she thanked the barista and left the coffee shop. Biting her lip, she glanced around her to see if she could spot anyone she didn't recognize. Since coming back from their honeymoon in the Bahamas, she couldn't shake the feeling that she constantly had eyes on her.

"You're fine Zoe," she whispered to herself. As soon as she got in her car, she locked the doors. She could feel the fear of uncertainty settling on her. God, she hoped she was just overreacting.

"Suck it up Zoe," she whispered to herself again as she kept her eye on her rearview mirror making sure no one was following her. She knew she should tell John, she had been feeling like this for much too long. As if she had a shadow, someone watching her, following her, waiting for her. And as much as she tried to shake that feeling, it never seemed to go away.

* * *

He could tell she wasn't immune to his constant presence. Lately, she seemed to have sensed him. She knows he was coming for her and the girls. She knew that he was watching her day in and day out. Not to worry my sweet, I won't be unknown for long. Soon we'll be together, just you and me and the girls.

He had spent the better part of the last three months planning. He had kept a reasonable distance until now. But soon, they would be together, a family. She didn't realize that he loved her already, he knew the instant he met her. He loved her more than anyone.

Zoe Morgan would be his soon. He would make her fall in love with him and then they would be together

He clicked his cell phone on. "It's time," he said into the phone giving the signal that his plan was being put into play.

 

* * *

 


	2. Taken

* * *

Detective Joss Carter's car slid to a stop in front of the house John and Zoe shared together with their twins. Auntie Joss was excited for the upcoming girls weekend she was going to have with the twins. A sense of foreboding emerged when she saw the front door standing wide open and the inside of the house was completely pitch black. This was odd, the front gate was completely locked up, she had to key in the access code before she could even enter their fortress of a home.

Scarcely having time to turn off the car's engine, Joss immediately pulled out her sidearm and held it close. Quickly making her way up the front steps, she cleared the ground floor making sure no threats were present. Cautiously making her way up the stairs, her heart was beating fast in her chest.

Adjusting her eyes to the low level of light, she could see that the doors to the bedrooms of the Reese home were wide open. She flicked the light switch on in the first of the rooms; her namesake little Jossie's room, and winced at both the stab of bright light as well as the sight of a neatly made but empty bed. "Jossie!" she yelled, then backed up and entered the other room through the adjoining bathroom. She flicked on the light in little Gracie's room and was met by the same neatly made, but empty bed. "Gracie?" she called out, hoping against hope that the girls were just playing hide and seek, but dreading the worst.

Where was Zoe? When she called and talked to her an hour ago, Zoe had said that she wasn't feeling well and that she would probably take a nap before Joss got there to pick up the girls. Their housekeeper, Rosa, had been around and could keep an eye on them while they waited. She could see each of the girl's bags packed and ready to go in their respective bedrooms.

Entering the master bedroom, Joss saw Zoe laying in bed seemingly asleep, yet at the sight of a piece of cloth abandoned on the floor by the bed, Joss knew that it wasn't a self induced nap. She picked up the cloth and sniffed it – then held it at arm's length when the odor of chloroform almost immediately made her dizzy.

Dropping the cloth back onto the floor, she dug out her cell phone from her pocket. She punched a button and waited for the voice to answer on the other end. "John, you need to get back home right now."

"Joss, I'm finishing up a few things . . . what's going on?" John asked, immediately alerted to the concern he heard in his friend's voice.

As Joss told him about what she found when she arrived at their home, she heard John start up his car. "I'll be there in half an hour. . . "

Joss ended the call and pocketed it again and re-holstered her gun as Zoe began to moan very softly and stir. "Wake up, Zoe," Joss called gently, sitting down next to her on the bed and patting softly on her face to try to bring her around again. "C'mon..."

Zoe's lashes fluttered, and then her eyelids slid back showing very bewildered and unclear brown eyes. "Joss?" she moaned, a hand moving slowly to her forehead and then rubbing her eyes. "Are you here already?" She blinked again several times and worked on focusing on the woman seated at the edge of her bed.

Joss looked down at her with a combination of remorse and frustration. "It's been an hour since I talked to you, Zoe. Your door was wide open when I got here and I think the girls were taken."

"Taken?" Zoe struggled to sit up, and then blinked again as her muddled brain began to register small details of her bedroom.

"I'm sorry." Joss didn't know how else to explain to her what she feared had happened.

Zoe looked at Joss long and hard, clearly working at overcoming her fogged up mental state, and then she stared out into the hallway. "Jossie? Gracie?" she called, softly at first, and then a little louder and more desperately - "Jocelyn Elizabeth Reese, Grace Morgan Reese, you girls answer me!" Only when her calls were met by silence did she turn a terrified look at her friend. "Oh God, Joss, no-no-no ..."

Joss could hear the heavy thumping coming from downstairs. Although she had cleared the living room and the other rooms on the main floor, she could have missed something. As much as she wanted to stay and offer her support to her friend, she had a job to do. She rubbed a hand down Zoe's arm and gave Zoe a comforting look. "Stay here, I have to check downstairs again."

Joss un-holstered her gun once more and rose from the bed. As left the bedroom and quietly made her way downstairs, the thumps started up again. They got louder as she made her way through the kitchen and to the laundry room. Taking a deep breath, readying her gun, she pushed the door open.

Poor Rosa, the housekeeper was bound and gagged. Her eyes were huge as Joss came through the door. "Oh Rosa, honey, " Joss exclaimed as she quickly re-holstered her gun and took Rosa's gag off.

"Oh Detective Carter, Thank God you're here. There were two of them, they buzzed at the gate and said they had a delivery. I didn't think anything of it, Miss Zoe was expecting some furniture this week. They just burst through the front door, forced me into the laundry room and tied me up." What happened after that, Rosa couldn't say. She heard the girls screaming as they were taken away. Joss could tell that Rosa felt guilty that she couldn't protect the girls. She had been with the family since the girls were babies and she treated them like they were her own.

The cell phone in her pocket rang, she punched button. "Fusco, get over here fast, I need you."

"On our way. I got Glasses and the pooch," the man on the other end announced grimly with no preamble at all.

"Good!" Joss disconnected and dropped her hand from her ear in dismay and found herself facing an anxious Zoe.

"Where are my girls, Joss?" she asked.

"We don't know Zoe, Rosa said two men . . . they restrained her and locked her in the laundry room, then took the girls, " she told her, knowing that sugar-coating the truth would do no good whatsoever.

"Rosa?" The brown eyes blinked again in confusion. "Is she okay?"

"I'm fine Miss Zoe, I made you some tea, you haven't been feeling well since you came back from your honeymoon," the housekeeper said as she brought a tray into the living room.

"What about the police, has anyone called them?" Zoe demanded, catching at Joss and nearly losing her balance as the effects of the chloroform still hadn't entirely worn off yet.

"I am the police Zoe, but I wasn't sure if you wanted anyone else involved," Joss replied, slipping arm around her waist leading her to sit on the couch.

Sitting down, Zoe wilted noticeably - she bent forward and covered her face with her hands and struggled with the urge to scream with pain and fear. Joss watched in wonder as Zoe's back straightened and stiffened. She wiped her face to removed all evidence of tears and then stared up into Joss own brown eyes with a strength that was a sight to see. You go girl. Joss thought. She had to admire the strength Zoe was showing right now, she would be doing the same thing. Joss was a mother too and she had been beside herself with worry when the bastard Elias took her Taylor. If it weren't for John, she would have lost Taylor and her world would have fallen apart.

"I need to make myself more presentable. Then I'm going into my office to see if any of my clients past and current could be involved in any of this."

"Yes, ma'am." Joss mocked saluted. The look in Zoe's eye was just this shy of scary. It was as if the last five year's worth of warmth and caring the birth of the twins brought on that had turned her into a woman Joss considered a friend had been obliterated in a blink of an eye. What stood before her now was the pre-John, pre-twins tough as nails, look-out for number one, Fixer.

Once Zoe was alone in her bedroom, her steely facade wavered. Her babies, her little girls. Who would take them from her? Right from under her nose? Bastard. Calling on every ounce of discipline she had, she forced herself to take control of her emotions and change. Now was not the time for sentiment. She was a Crisis Manager, it was time she acted like one.

She made her way down the hall towards her home office. Looking at the pictures on the walls, the girls mostly as John and Zoe were both a bit camera shy, Zoe was amazed. She never would have had pictures up at all in her apartment. Nothing that mattered to her was ever on display. But since the arrival of the twins, she couldn't help but want memories.

Entering her office, she immediately sat at her desk and booted up her laptop. She had very few paper files, most of the information relating to her clients were on her laptop that was backed up every night into a remote server, courtesy of Harold. She pulled out every last memory she had ever had of her clients from the back of her mind. Efficiently sorting through the information, she was further able to distance herself from any emotion.

She could not be an emotional mess right now. Her daughter's lives depended on it. She could allow herself to feel, not yet. Not until she found her girls, not until she knew they weren't harmed, and certainly not until she had a chance to rip out the heart of whomever was responsible for this. The "mommy" hat was safely tucked away in the interior region of her once again frozen heart.

* * *

He watched the black female detective go through the front gates and make it up the drive towards Zoe's house. A frequent visitor, he recognized her and knew that she was honorary Aunt to the girls.

He knew this charade was necessary, although it would hurt Zoe. Just for a little while. He smiled as he saw the detective pull out her weapon and entered the home cautiously.

 


	3. Disbelief

* * *

"Oh God..." John could feel the blood draining from his head. "BOTH of them?"

"They have both Gracie and Jossie..." Joss started, then backtracked. "Rosa buzzed them in at the gate thinking they were the furniture delivery truck. As soon as Rosa opened the door, she was rushed then restrained in the laundry room, gassed Zoe, then took the girls..."

"They took my girls . . ." His voice broke on the last words. His girls, they were only five. Gracie would be so scared and Jossie, his tough little Jossie, would be making sure her sister felt safe. John had never felt this helpless in his life.

"Was Rosa hurt?"

"Rosa is tough, she's just a little shook up, but I think she's cooking enough to feed an army in there. Which is a good thing since Fusco, Finch and Bear are on their way."

John looked at Joss, "Zoe?"

"The effects of the chloroform should be wearing off by now. I tried to get her to lie down, but you know her. . ."

"That I do. . . I take it she's in her office going through client records? In case this isn't a random kidnapping and a ransom call never comes," he surmised. He certainly knew how Zoe's mind worked. And he was positive that when he saw her, he wouldn't recognize her as Jossie and Gracie's mother, she would be Zoe, Crisis Manager to the powerful. She would hold back any sign of vulnerability and face the bastards who took her daughters.

"You got everything figured out down here Carter?"

"Yeah, like I said, Fusco will be here soon. My guess is these guys were professionals and aren't going to leave much to go on. So go, go see your wife, make sure she doesn't crack and tell her to rest, just until that damn drug is out of her system."

John nodded and walked quickly to the stairs and took the steps two at a time.

* * *

Zoe glared at her computer screen. She wanted to yell, cry, throw things, or verbally beat the hell out of someone, anything but sitting here staring at files that don't make sense to her. None of her clients would do this, what would they have to gain? Plus they knew the wrath of Zoe Morgan would be upon them if anything touched her family. It had only been a couple of hours, but there were so few answers and too much fear. She wasn't sure how long she could keep it together.

The mask of indifference and strength that she had perfected over the years fell into place as she heard a quiet knock on her door. No fear, no weakness, only steely determination and plain old stubbornness.

"Zoe…" John said as he walked into her office, concern written on his face.

"What's being done to find my girls?" Zoe demanded as she stood up.

"Don't you snarl at me Zoe. They are my children too," John stared down his wife and her well known defense mechanism.

Zoe sighed, he was right. This was John who knew everything. John who she held nothing back from. John, who waited for five years before he asked her to marry him; he knew that it was what she needed. John, her husband and the father of her beautiful little girls. "I'm sorry . . ." she said as she sat down and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's been hours and there hasn't been any contact, no demands, nothing."

Walking around her desk, John hunched down in front of her. "I know, Carter is doing everything she can to find out anything without alerting the police. It's difficult since we don't want to involve the local police or the FBI."

"I've been going over my client list and there is no one that would work a kidnapping like this. Of course they know we would pay any ransom demand, but no one is standing out."

Zoe watched John's eyes fill with strength and determination. "We'll find them," John said. John Reese never gave up, didn't know the meaning of the word impossible, if anyone would bring their girls back it would be John.

* * *

They were in the back of a van and were on the move; it was not a comfortable ride given that they were sliding around the van's floor and hitting its walls every time they hit a bump or turned. The men that took them from their house shoved them in the van while they were both screaming for their Mommy and Rosa.

Pulling her legs up to her chest, Jossie tried to sit more comfortably by leaning against the side wall of the van. Brushing the tears from her face she hugged the stuffed puppy, Wren that her Uncle Harold had given her. He had given Gracie a stuffed puppy too; she named it Bear-Bear because she said it looked like Bear. She looked over at her sister and found her curled up on her side, hugging Bear-Bear, still crying.

"Gracie," she whispered as she scooted closer. Carefully she pulled her sister up towards her and put her arm around her shoulders hugging her close. Gracie leaned on her and started sucking her thumb. Jossie almost told her to stop since they had promised that they would stop sucking their thumbs when they were five, but she figured it was okay to do that right now since they were both really, really, scared.

"I'm scared Jossie," Gracie mumbled, looking up at her sister.

"I know, it's going to be okay, Mommy and Daddy will find us," Jossie tried to sound reassuring hoping her sister would believe her.

"So, where do you think they are taking us?" she asked her twin, both sets of identical blue eyes were filled with concern.

"I don't know, but we may be far away from our house. It's kinda bumpy like when we go to Ellie's house," Jossie replied. Their friend Ellie lived further out where they had horses and stuff.

"How long do you think before Mommy and Daddy come for us?" Gracie whispered her voice soft and low, her brow furrowed.

"Not long, you know how Mommy and Daddy are. They'll be mad that those men took us, and I bet they get help from Auntie Joss, Uncle Lionel and Uncle Harold," Jossie said with confidence. She knew her parents were going to find them. She hoped soon.

The van stopped, sending both girls tumbling to their sides. They could hear the doors up front open and slam shut again, then heard several voices outside the vans. They both squealed as the back doors were suddenly opened and the two big men reached in and dragged them out.

"Where are my Mommy and Daddy?" Jossie asked indignantly.

"Shut up, kid." One of the big men said as she and Gracie were dragged up a small set of stairs and into the living room of the house.

* * *

By the time Fusco and Harold arrived, Joss and John had gotten a good head start in identifying the individuals that took the girls. They were able to access the front gate surveillance cameras and found out that indeed, there were two men. Both appeared to be white with no distinguishing marks or tattoos, at least on their faces. They came in a white cargo van, unfortunately, the license plate was indistinguishable. Zoe was upstairs in her office calling all her contacts to see if anyone had heard or knew anything about Gracie and Jossie's abduction.

Finch was now busy running the men's faces through a facial recognition program. The beep from his computer indicated that he had found his first match. Roy Muller had a record for petty theft and some drunken disorderlies. The second man was identified as Buddy Harris. He had a similar background to Roy Muller and in fact had worked several thefts together.

"In the grand scheme of things, they are relatively harmless. They have no history of violence and as far as I can tell, but what is interesting is that they don't have any history of extortion." Carter paused before speaking again. "So this tells me that there is someone else might be calling the shots."

"I can start running some searches on known associations that could tie to either John or Zoe," Finch declared his voice strained and anxious. His feelings for those two little girls went beyond that of a family friend. His feelings were more akin to that of a doting, loving, uncle. And those little girls treated him as such.

"John!"

All four, sitting at the table looked up immediately as Zoe came into the kitchen toting her laptop.

"Zoe, what happened?" John asked.

"I just received an email. It has a video attachment. It's them."

* * *

 


	4. Ransom

* * *

The video started with the camera trained on both Jossie and Gracie, each of them hugging their puppies to their chests. Their eyes displaying the fear they were feeling at that moment.

Zoe was speaking for all of them when she whispered through the fingers of the hand that covered her mouth. "Oh my God."

A man's face with a ski mask on appeared next. "Good evening Miss Morgan. You don't know who I am, but you can call me Roy. Now let's get down to business. As you have noticed, I have your two beautiful little girls here with me and they are alive, but just a tad scared. That one over there . . . " he paused as he pointed to Gracie. " . . . is quite the little whiner and won't stop crying. You don't want her to keep crying do you, Mommy?" he asked as he leaned over Gracie and rubbed her back. Gracie shrank away from him and whimpered.

Trembling with barely contained anger, Zoe once more spoke for all of them when she said in a lethally low voice. "You bastard, don't touch her or I swear to God I will kill you myself."

"And that one over there . . ." Roy continued pointing to Jossie, " . . . she's a tough little nut. All hot air and false bravado . . . she's a little pistol isn't she?"

Zoe hugged herself harder as though hoping that some comfort would come of it. My babies, please hold on. Mommy and Daddy are coming. Zoe could see the little Jossie biting her lip so that she wouldn't cry. She could see her fear, but Jossie was stubborn. Just like me. Never let them see you cry.

"Here's the deal: if you wire two million to bank account number 8789021 by nine am tomorrow morning you will get to see your girls again. Once we have confirmed that the money is where it's supposed to be, we will contact you and let you know where to pick them up."

Then the screen went black.

"There wasn't even an attempt at a negotiation!" Fusco exclaimed. "The jackass thinks you're just going to hand over the two million."

"He's right," John spoke up. They weren't going to try to negotiate anything. They would pay whatever they asked for.

Her hand clamped tightly over her mouth, fighting tears Zoe suddenly felt hands on her shoulders and heard John's voice whispering comfort. "We're going to do what they say Zoe, okay? We'll get our girls back."

Zoe couldn't hold it in any longer. Excusing herself, she ran to the hallway bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach which was precious little. Ever since she and John had come back from their honeymoon in the Bahamas, she hadn't felt 100%. Months of not being able to keep much of anything down and the stress of the past several hours had taken its toll.

Taking several deep breaths, Zoe felt John kneel beside her and a warm and gentle hand on her back. "Sweetheart, are you alright?" She looked over at him, she shook her head. "I will be as soon as we get them back, John."

* * *

Jossie glared at the one of the big men, keeping her small hand wrapped firmly around Gracie's. She wouldn't let them be separated. If they were separated then Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be able to find them and Jossie knew, she just knew they were going to come for them.

Gracie whimpered quietly behind Jossie, she was scared and nothing the big men said was making her feel better. She held on tightly to Jossie with one hand and the other held tightly to her puppy, Bear-Bear. Uncle Harold had given each of them a stuffed puppy when they were three. He said to always keep it with them, wherever they went. She was cold and scared and she was relieved that she had Bear-Bear.

"Keep it down Gracie; it's going to be okay. Mommy and Daddy will come for us," Jossie whispered to her as she gave her sister a hug. She needed the comfort of having her sister close.

"Mommy and Daddy and Auntie Joss, and maybe Uncle Lionel and Uncle Harold?" Gracie asked hopefully, snuggling closer into Jossie's arms. It was cold and dark in big room they were in and she hated the cold and hated the dark.

Jossie was scared of the dark too, but it would just make Gracie more scared if she said that.

"Yeah, we got both brats and sent the ransom email. What do we do now," the other big man said as he was talking on his cell phone.

Jossie knew that the other big man, Roy, was talking to the person who was giving orders. That person had to be connected to what her Mommy or Daddy did. Why else would anyone take her and Gracie, she reasoned. She kept quiet and did what her Mommy and Daddy always told her. Watch and observe. They said that if they were ever taken, to remember everything that made that person who took them different. Roy was ugly and he had a belly that hung over his pants, he had no hair on the top of his head, but he had a beard. And he had a drawing of an eagle on his arm. Jossie looked at the other big man, Roy called him Buddy. Buddy wasn't fat like Roy, and he didn't yell, but he was still creepy. He didn't have dark hair like her, or Daddy or Gracie, not lighter hair like Mommy; he had yellow hair just like their friend Ellie. He was tall like her Daddy, but thin.

Roy clicked off his cell and smiled down at the twins. Soon, he and Buddy would be going their separate ways with enough money to start over wherever they wanted to.

"Roy, quit scaring the kids. You girls must be hungry and tired. Would you like some Happy Meals?" Buddy said as he hunkered down to where the girls were huddled together.

"Can we see our Mommy and Daddy please?" Gracie asked politely, her Mommy said to always be polite, she got more answers that she liked when she was polite.

Buddy shook his head, "Maybe in a little while. Roy and I have to keep you guys for a few days . . ."

"We want to see our Mommy and Daddy," Jossie said defiantly.

"Soon. Until then we're going to get you some food. Maybe even some ice cream. You guys like ice cream don't you?"

Jossie still wasn't sure she liked these men, and she knew not to trust them like Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Joss, and Uncle Harold had taught them, so Jossie slowly nodded. It had been hours since she and Gracie had goldfish for snack and her tummy was rumbling.

"Good, I'll go get our food, so why don't you two get cleaned up?"

Jossie narrowed her blue eyes at Buddy and tightened her grip on Gracie's hand.

Gracie looked at her sister wide-eyed, knowing what the jut of the chin meant. Jossie was going to get mad.

"We want to talk to our Mommy and Daddy, now!" Jossie demanded.

* * *

"How is Zoe doing, John?" Harold asked, a tremor ran through his voice as he failed to shut out of his mind the image of Jossie and Gracie, staring at the camera with big eyes full of fear, each clutching the puppies Harold had given when they were thee.

"She's barely hanging in there Finch. I know she hides it well, but the few months have been rough on her. The stress of the last several hours just added to that and she's making herself physically ill. She is more than willing and ready to wire the two million to the account," John replied, the concern for his wife's mental and physical health was clear.

"If you need help with the money . . ." Finch offered.

"Finch, you know that money is just pocket change. Between our investments and property, we can easily afford it," John said staring off into space seeing the image of his little girls, frightened, over and over in his mind's eye.

"Did you notice anything unusual about the ransom request?" Finch queried. At John's negative shake of his head, Finch continued. "The man said Miss Morgan, you, or rather the father of the girls was never mentioned."

"This was personal. They didn't just happen to be watching this house because it was a well off neighborhood. Whoever took the girls wants something from Zoe, something more than the money."

"I'm afraid so," Finch agreed.

"She knew it too. When I got home, she was in her office going through every scrap of information she had on her clients current and past . . ." John said, amazed at his wife's instincts. "But so far nothing in her client files has stood out."

"There is something I must confess to you John," Finch began with trepidation. The look on his face clearly said he had done something that he didn't think John would have approved of. "I realize it was a clear invasion of privacy, but I really thought it would help in situations such as this. I'm just beside myself that I didn't remember it sooner."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember the puppies I gave the girls two years ago?"

"Of course, they don't leave home without it . . ."

"I had them specially made. They have tracking devices stuffed into them. I never really tracked them because there wasn't a need to. They were either at home or with one of you every time. I only remembered when I saw them both holding those puppies close in the video. John, I know exactly where they are. . . "

* * *

In the darkness of the bedroom, Jossie shifted in the bed and tried to get more comfortable. After she demanded to talk to her Mommy and Daddy, Buddy turned out to be not so nice and hit her hard in the face. Even though the pain was awful, she stood her ground and didn't cry. But secretly, it had scared her, her Mommy and Daddy never hurt her or Gracie ever. They didn't even get spanked. Making sure that Gracie was still asleep, Jossie wiped the tear that ran down her face.

Jossie could clearly hear the T.V. from the next room. Then she heard a couple of thuds followed by complete silence.

"Gracie? You awake?" Jossie asked, shaking her sister who was sleeping next to her.

"Yeah, Jossie, are you okay? Does your face hurt?" Gracie asked, her concern for her twin was evident.

Not wanting to worry her sister, Jossie waved it off. "It's not so bad. . . " Jossie was hoping that she could find a way out of here. She had no doubt her Mommy and Daddy were coming, but just in case, she had to find a way she and Gracie could sneak out. That's what Mommy and Daddy would want them to do.

"Gracie, let's go try and hear what they are saying and see what they are doing. Maybe we can figure out a way to get out of here." Jossie told her twin as they both scooted off the bed.

"You mean, like reconi - reconis -" Gracie struggled with the word her Daddy sometimes used when he went to work for Uncle Harold.

"Reconnaissance, it's when we check out the lay of the land . . ." Jossie said confidently, remembering what her Daddy had said one time. Quietly they both crept to the door and wedged the door open just enough so they could hear what they were saying.

They both screamed as a hand clasped each of their arms.

  


 


	5. Getting the Girls

* * *

Joss began to turn right into a gravel road that took them further away from John's home. They drove for nearly 20 miles before the turned down a road with an address carved into the wooden post of the fence. The single level ranch house they approached was set back from the road about 200 yards.

"Over there by those trees," Lionel directed sitting next to her in the passenger seat. She drove past the house towards a copse of trees about a half mile away. She pulled the car in behind them, shielding it from view.

"How did you convince Zoe to stay back with Finch?" Joss asked John as they all exited the car and started to inventory their guns and ammunition.

John shrugged a shoulder and gave an evasive answer, "I just did . . ." pulling a small automatic from his equipment bag.

John tucked a gun into the back of his waistband as both Joss and Lionel each added a second gun to their respective ankle holsters hidden beneath their pants. Moving to close the trunk of the car, John grabbed a pair of binoculars.

"Let's go parallel to the street, see if they have any alarm triggers around the perimeter of the house . . . " John suggested.

John nodded and cautiously set off parallel to the road they had just driven on. They were cautious, trying to ascertain who was watching the area. They moved unhindered until John signaled for them to stop and motioned towards an area filled with tall grass that would provide them with the best view of the house.

From where they were, they could see a white van parked in front of the house, the interior was dark as if no one was home. "I don't detect any perimeter alarms; I think we're good to go."

Nodding their agreement, Carter and Fusco made their way to the back of the property, to identify their best and safest approach. As the crested the rise that partially hid them from the view of the house, Carter stopped, feeling Fusco's hand on her arm. He motioned that he was going to the right of the house and pointed that she should go left. Carter nodded and started down the hill.

At a crouch, John made his way to the front of the house, communicating with Carter and Fusco, he let them know that he was on his way in. John quietly stepped through the front door, leaving it open so as not to alert the occupants of the home to his presence. The front of the home was made up of the living room and dining room, typical of most suburban homes. He cautiously advanced with his gun drawn. To his right was the living room and on the floor he saw Roy Mullen, dead, with a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Swearing, John's first inclination was to yell for his girls. He was hoping against hope that they weren't anywhere near the gun that killed this man. Taking a deep breath he flicked his ear bud on, "Fusco, Carter, Roy Mullen is dead, gsw to the back of the head . . ."

"Yeah, I've got Buddy Harris in the same condition back here," Carter called out. "John, I don't think the girls are here."

Fusco came back downstairs carrying two stuffed puppies. "They were here at some point."

* * *

Zoe felt her resolve fading fast. The walls she had erected once she had found out her girls were taken were starting to crumble. She was falling apart and she didn't know how to fix it. It was just her and John now. Carter and Fusco had gone home to their families, promising to come back in the morning and continue searching for the girls. They had offered Finch a guest bedroom, but he declined saying he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She had almost wanted all of them to stay to keep her mind off of what could be happening to the girls.

She was sitting on the floor in her office, in her flannel pajamas surrounded with file folders and stacks of paper. Something had to make sense she thought frantically, moving stacks of paper from one side of her to another. Pulling out folder after folder, open, shut, open, shut and on it continued.

This is ridiculous, why am I not out there looking for them? Zoe thought seeing red. With a new found resolve, she got up and went straight to her walk-in closet and started to throw things on. Dressing hurriedly, she pulled on a pair of cargo pants, a long sleeved hoodie, socks and boots. She pulled her ponytail through her baseball cap and was out of the closet like a shot.

Thundering down the stairs, she grabbed her keys from the hook by the garage. Almost twelve hours had passed since she had woken up to Joss standing over her, telling her that her daughters had been taken and they still didn't have the slightest clue who paid those men to take her girls and where they were now.

"Zoe? What are you doing?" John asked gently in a tone filled with concern, grabbing her arm to turn her towards him. He had woken up from his self imposed slumber to hear his wife in the closet getting dressed. Without her even noticing, he had followed her down the stairs calling her name several times and still she didn't respond. His heart sank as he looked into her eyes; they were frantic, desperate, and hopeless.

"Why aren't we out there looking for them, John? What good are we doing here twiddling our thumbs?" She asked in a tight voice that made John's eyes widen a bit in surprise. He hadn't heard that cool and almost unfriendly tone of voice from her in years now, and he had hoped that he'd never hear it again.

Turning her to fully face him, he held onto her arms, subconsciously trying to detain her. "Zoe, you know we are doing everything we can," he reassured her. "We will find them; it just won't do any good if we're all exhausted out of our minds."

"Let me go, John," she said through clenched teeth trying to get her arms free. "I will find them myself, you can sit on your ass here and sleep and wait; I won't do that. My girls need me. . . " she declared as she finally pulled her arms free.

"Zoe, you just have to be patient . . . " John still believed he could reason with her, although he was starting to think that he might need to forcefully restrain her.

Zoe looked incredulously at John. "Be patient?" How ridiculous it was to ask the mother of two stolen little girls to just sit still and be patient.

"I won't let you leave, you're in no state of mind to be out there . . . " he said as he grabbed her arm once more.

She felt rage building inside her. Trying to tug her arm free she shouted, "You won't let me? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm your husband, damn it. And I don't want you to leave right now. You aren't thinking clearly."

Moving with a quickness John hadn't been expecting Zoe shrugged John's hand off. "Try and stop me. . . " she challenged as she headed towards the garage.

Everything that happened next happened so quickly. John grabbed Zoe's arm once more. "Don't touch me." Unable to shake his hand loose this time, she tried a hard and certainly painful knee to his side; though it didn't hurt him, it did surprise him none the less and had him loosening his grip on her arm. The rage continued to build inside her. Helpless to stop it, it festered, and grew, rising up and choking her. Vision blurring into a crimson hue she heard an almost animal-like sound coming from her throat as she lashed out at the only available target.

The thud of her small fist on his face reverberated in the silent room. He turned his head aside, his face clearly in shock. In all the years he and Zoe had been together, neither one of them had ever lifted a finger in anger towards each other. A brief, strangled gasp escaped her, as one tear tracked down her cheek. When she looked up, she could see the stinging red mark on his cheek. He was still gripping her arm tightly.

"Get your hands off me," she said, her voice taking on a hysterical edge as she started pulling, "Damn it John; let me go!"

"No, Zoe. Stop struggling . . ." John said. He was afraid that in his effort to restrain her, he would inadvertently hurt her.

She pulled her arm free and ran towards the garage again; almost managing to get there when she was tackled to the floor. John rolled his body so that he would take the brunt of the fall. She landed on top of him, pummeling his chest with her fists, pushing him to the floor. "Bastard, let me go. I have to find them."

She heard the smack of his leg against the wall, but ignored it; and continued to swat away at his hands that were trying to restrain her. "They were taken on my watch, John. My . . . watch!" She cried and beat at him, and he finally was able to grab both her hands and rolled her beneath him, pinning her with his body.

"Zoe . . . honey . . . please . . ." John begged his wife, finally gaining insight and understanding as to the reasons for her behavior and state of mind. Guilt.

"I have to fix this John. I promised them I would protect them. . . " Weak, tired and distraught, Zoe finally stopped fighting him, breaking down into wrenching sobs. When John shifted his weight off her, she curled away from him, onto her side, tucking up into a ball and weeping into her hands. She felt him pick her up and cradle her on his lap and into his chest.

"Zoe, there was nothing you could have done. They drugged you." John quietly said as he rocked his wife as if she were one of his little girls; shushing her and rubbing her back.

"I have to fix this John; I have to find them . . ." she said softly into his chest.

"Zoe, our girls don't need a Fixer. They need their mother . . . "

Carefully laying his hand on her belly, he said softly, "The baby needs you to stay calm too okay?" An unexpected but welcomed surprise. They certainly hadn't thought it could happen again, given their ages and circumstances. But a month after coming back from their honeymoon, Zoe had finally given in and went to see her doctor.

"Please, Zoe, please, calm down. We need you."


	6. Not What It Seems

* * *

Gracie rolled onto her side and then opened her eyes. Her head hurt. Where were they? The last thing she remembered was that she and Jossie were going to go on a reconnaissance mission to try and figure out the lay of the land. But then, someone grabbed them and put a cloth over her face.

Jossie was still asleep lying on her side next to her on the bed. This wasn't the same room they were in last night. She pushed herself up on her elbow and looked around. She could tell it was the morning because she saw the sunlight streaming through the window through the curtains.

The room was furnished with a bed big enough for Jossie and Gracie to sleep in it together, and the wooden floor looked clean. But it smelled dusty and of mildew and the door looked big and heavy and locked. The scary part about the whole room was that Gracie couldn't hear a thing; nothing from the outside and no voices coming from anywhere else in the house. She listened harder for any sign that the man who took them from Roy and Buddy was close, but she heard nothing.

She looked at her sister, still asleep, and ran her still pudgy hand over the bruise on her face. Jossie spent so much of her time protecting her that she never thought of herself first.

Gracie lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes to think. What could she do to get them out of here? Snapping her fingers, she knew what she had to do. She had to figure out the lay of the land. She had to go on a reconnaissance mission and she would have to do it by herself since Jossie was still asleep.

As quietly as she could, Gracie got up from the bed and made her way to the door. Testing the door knob, she was surprised when it gave way. She cautiously walked out and down the hall. Remembering to look around and notice unusual things, like Jossie said. The walls were covered with pictures of people she didn't know. There were pictures of a pretty lady who looked a lot like her mom. And there was a picture of a family, a daddy, a mommy, and two little girls. The man looked familiar but she couldn't remember where she'd seem him before.

Moving further down the hall, she made it to the stairs. She listened again to make sure she didn't hear anyone. Lightly, she counted each step, there were 15 of them. Wandering around the first floor she noticed that the furniture was covered with clear plastic sheets. Gracie suspected that no one lived here all the time.

Continuing her mission, she found the kitchen and the den in the back. Each of the rooms had a telephone but sadly none of them worked. Both the back door and the front door were locked and even after she unlocked the door knob the doors still wouldn't budge.

Hearing tires on the gravel outside she quickly looked out the window to see if she could get a look at the man's face that was coming out of the black car. As if sensing her presence the man looked at the window that Gracie was standing. Even though she was behind mostly closed blinds, she gave a little shriek and ran as fast as she could back to the room.

Jumping into bed with Jossie, she scrunched her eyes just as the door to their room opened. Gracie could sense him standing there looking at them but she still kept her eyes scrunched tight and almost afraid to breathe in case she gave something away. Breathe you ninny. She thought to herself. You're supposed to be asleep, not dead.

As the door shut, she opened one eye to peek. Her heart sank when she heard the click of the lock.

* * *

Downstairs, in what used to be the study, a slow smile spread across the face of the man responsible for taking Zoe Morgan's daughters. He was in awe of the beautiful Zoe Morgan as he examined the picture more closely, taking in her appearance. For a woman in her forties and after having children later in life, he body was magnificent; nothing middle aged about her at all. Though small in stature, her strong, slender legs seemed as if they would never end.

He held the photo lovingly to his chest; just above his heart. Smiling to himself, he walked out of the study, through the hallways and entered another room. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It smelled like her. Her perfume, some of her clothes, in the months since they had first met, he was able to create this room, just for her, with some of her things.

Looking around the room, he zoomed in on the biggest wall. His eyes searched, considered, discarded possible spots for his new picture of his love. Ah, there it is, he thought, the perfect spot.

His smile broadened and he nodded approvingly. The new picture was surrounded by the other pictures he had amassed over the last few months. There was a picture of her running on the streets by her home. Every day she ran, it must be how she keeps her legs in such glorious shape. There was another picture of her, this one a close-up. She was smiling at the girls, lovingly. He sighed, imagining, convincing himself that it was he she was smiling at so lovingly. Still there was another one of her, dropping the girls off at school. They had started kindergarten just a few weeks ago. The entire wall was covered with pictures of her and her girls.

It took some effort, but he was able to pull away from his reverie. It was so easy to lose himself in this room; to dream of moments with her and her girls. A family. . .

She was driving him insane with want and need. Not being allowed to touch her or be with her every hour of every day was enough to drive him crazy.

Those idiots ruined his plans. They were supposed to just take the girls and hide them for a few days. They weren't supposed to lay a hand on his girls. But they did. When he saw the bruise on poor little Jossie's face, he lost it. He was supposed to swoop in and be the one to find the girls; that way ingratiating himself into the family. But now there was no way he could explain how he came to be in the company of the girls without giving himself away.

He'll just have to take them all away. Taking deep breaths he calmed himself. He had the girls already; it was just a matter of getting their mother to come to them. And he was positive she would come for them.

He hadn't seen her in days. He missed her. Though he knew it was early in the morning, he had to hear her voice.

Flicking on the burner phone, he hit the speed dial button and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Zoe Morgan," he heard hear barely woken up voice coming through the line.

He sighed dreamily and relished the sound of her voice; imagining that she was just waking up beside him.

"Hello? Who is this? Please don't hurt my girls. We'll give you anything just don't hurt them, please."

His smile widened at her plea and clicked the phone off. She said she would give him anything. He was counting on that. He closed his eyes and held the phone close to his heart. It wasn't much of a conversation, but it was a step in the right direction.

The plan . . . He couldn't help but smile again. It was so simple really. A few more finishing touches, a few more pieces in place, then everything will be to his liking.

* * *

Joss looked at the run down shack with frustration. It had been a long ride from Manhattan to this place, out of the way, practically in the middle of nowhere. Finding known hide-outs of Buddy Harris and Roy Mullen took longer than anticipated. Nothing connected the two kidnappers besides the fact that they worked together. There were no common friends, no common bosses, and no common hang-outs. They each had their preferences and they were scattered all over the city and the outlying suburbs.

When they had struck out at the location the tracking devices led them too, they scoured files, databases, anything that could tell them where the kidnappers' boss would take the girls. As she approached the dusty and abandoned structure, her heart stopped.

She waited until John reappeared through the front door, then sighed when he shook his head and looked around the emptiness surrounding the shack. Upon seeing the condition of the ramshackle building, her first thought was that it was a dumping ground. She didn't want to think about what could have been dumped there. So her sigh was one of relief that they hadn't found anything of value.

Following a hunch, Joss went to the back of the cars and looked at the tracks leading into the yard. Her hunch proved true when the only set of tire prints leading into the year had belonged to her vehicle. The same was true for footprints. Only hers and John's could be seen. They were the first people to visit the shack in a good long while.

John and Carter had taken Buddy Harris' list of three and had already struck out on the first two. This had been their last shot.

Fusco and Harold had taken Roy Mullen's list and. She was hoping they had better

Pulling out her cell phone from her pocket she checked the signal strength. Sighing with relief, she called Fusco to see if they had found anything at the hide-out he and Harold had gone to.

"Fusco, it's one big goose egg over here, John and I are the only ones to visit this place recently."

Agreeing to regroup back at John and Zoe's house, Joss clicked her cell off.

Joss observed John as he made his way back to the car. "Fusco struck out on their list as well." She noticed John's jaw tighten even though his expression hardly changed.

"How are you doing John?" She asked as she grabbed his arm.

"Fine," John replied.

She smiled, "Would you tell me if you weren't fine?"

He returned her smile; she could see the thanks in his eyes as he said, "probably not."

"You will tell us if there is anything more we can help you with. If you want us to call the FBI into this we would be more than happy to . . ."

"Honestly, Joss, I'm more concerned about Zoe . . ."

"That bruise on your pretty face courtesy of your wife?" Joss asked pointing to his bruised right cheekbone.

"Yeah . . ."

"John, the worst thing that can happen to a mother is when her child is taken from her. It's twice as bad if it happens in your own home while you were there. Trust me, I know. "

"I just hate to see her do that to herself. And you know how she is Joss; she shuts down and is very good at putting up an unaffected front. Damn, I know its remnants of her deep seated anger towards her father that she never really dealt with."

"You just have to be there for her John. This isn't something you can fix for her. She has to be able to let that anger go or deal with it. Do you want me to talk to her? About the girls?"

"Would you?" His look was that of a desperate man.

"I would have anyway, pretty boy." Joss said as she hugged her friend to her.

* * *

 


	7. Playing With Fire

* * *

He snarled menacingly. Who was that man going into her house? Acting as if he owned the place? The man knew the area around her house as well as he did. He'd never seen him there before. The man was tall, and built solid. He had dark hair peppered with gray.

He was watching from afar, through the window, having to suffer watching this stranger taking care of his woman.

Who was he? Where did he come from and what was he doing in her house?!

* * *

John stepped into Zoe's home office and found her leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed. He noticed her shoes were off, leaving her feet bare. She was wearing one of her "get out of my way, I have things to do" shift dresses, but instead of powerful and tough, she looked exhausted and defenseless.

"Hey…" He called softly and she opened her eyes, lifting her head from the back of her chair.

"Hi . . ." she said and reached her hand out. John grabbed it and kissed her knuckles, then pulled her out of the chair so he could sit on it with her on his lap.

"Whoa," she laughed, "easy there cowboy . . ."

"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering how she fared at home by herself. A day and a half and they had no clue where their daughters were or who took them. "Tell me about the call you received this morning."

"Like I told you, they didn't say anything . . . but I could tell there was someone there. . ." she said, furrowing her brow with worry. "Did you have any luck at all finding anything?"

"Carter and Fusco went back into the City to see if any of their friends knew who hired them . . ."

Her shoulders sank as she laid her head on his shoulder. "John, where are our girls?"

John started rubbing her back, "Zoe, we went over this last night, I know this is driving you crazy, but we are doing everything we can to find them."

Thinking about the night before, Zoe focused on the bruise on John's cheek. Rubbing her thumb gently over it, she said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me . . ."

John grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles again. "I know what came over you . . ." he said smiling as he laid his hand on her belly.

Laying her forehead on his shoulder, she huffed. "I can't believe you did this to me again. What? Do you have like superman sperm? What are the odds of this happening twice in our lifetimes. Able to cause geriatric pregnancies in a single bound?"

"I think we're lucky that it did happen to us again, at least, I'm not sorry. . ." he said as he began to rub circles around her still flat belly. When Zoe was pregnant with the twins, John hadn't been prepared for the sheer emotion of watching her normally trim and taut body round out; feeling every little kick and flutter of the babies.

And if the abundance of emotion had blindsided him, how had it affected Zoe? He remembered that even during the physical misery of the last month of her pregnancy, he would often times catch her with a small smile on her lips and a look of pure joy as she unconsciously stroked her belly. It told him she was lost in a world that was made up of just her and the girls.

So he considered them lucky that at their age that they would be blessed with another child. Considering they never thought it was possible for them to have a family in the normal sense. They were making it work. Completely lost in his thoughts, John hadn't realized that his gentle tummy rub had progressed in a direction that he hadn't planned.

John leaned his head up a little brushing their lips together. His hand moved up to her hair, tangling gently, but his lips remained soft against hers. She brought her hands up to cup his cheeks and pressed her lips harder against his. John's free hand ran down her back, then up to her shoulders and back again, moving his lips to the corners of her mouth, then back again. Her mouth opened a little against his and she ran her tongue over his lower lip lightly. John opened his mouth, kissing her a little harder and thrusting his own tongue against her lips. She ran her tongue over the inside of his mouth and her hands down his arms, to his waist and back up his sides.

A soft cough cut through the passion and lust that had built up. Smiling against his lips, she pulled away and gently wiped the lipstick off. "I forgot we weren't going to be alone," she said trying to hide her smile. Getting off of John's lap, not the least bit embarrassed, Zoe turned to address their visitor.

"I'm sorry Miss Morgan, I didn't realize you had company," Kyle Winters said as he politely tried to look anywhere but at the previously amorous couple. He was the general contractor that was taking care of the renovations they had had done in the past several months. The renovation had finally been completed just the past week.

"Oh, it's quite alright Kyle. I don't think you've met have you?" she asked looking at both John and Kyle.

"I'm John," John said as he stood up and offered his hand.

"My husband," Zoe offered.

"Good to meet you, I'm Kyle . . . " Kyle replied as he shook John's hand.

"The contractor," Zoe added again, hoping to quickly end the awkwardness of the moment. Kyle had always seemed a little out of sorts, as if he wasn't quite sure how to act in public and certainly with new people. And, John, with his closed expression, could be a tad intimidating.

"The contractor . . . Zoe's mentioned that you've done a wonderful job with the addition and that you completed it in record time. . . "

Kyle smiled politely and nodded, then turned to Zoe. "Miss Morgan, I just stopped by to drop of those samples you wanted. And also, Rosa told me what happened to the girls. Is there anything I can do?"

"Thank you Kyle for your concern. We're doing what we can to find them . . ."

"Well, if there is anything, anything at all, Miss Morgan, please let me know . . ." Kyle said standing next to the door, looking down at his shoes.

Smiling at him, she thanked him again and watched him leave.

"What's with him?" John asked curious.

"He's just a little awkward. Not everyone can have your social skills, John."

* * *

Although things were going as planned, there was one hitch; the presence of that man. It's a good thing he planned well. When she came to him, no one will know where they were. They won't know where she was because where he was going to take her, no one knew about.

His hands clenched tightly as he had observed her, sitting on the man's lap, appearing to feel completely safe in his arms. He watched them kissing each other, how could she do that? How could she betray him? Didn't she know that he was waiting for her? Damn it, she was his! He would make her see; she would come to him.

She's mine, he thought as he watched the man give her a kiss and leave. And soon, she'll be all mine.

* * *

Every time she was alone, the restless feeling came back as well as the feeling of being watched. Zoe stared at the files on her desk, thinking that she wanted, no needed to do something. Certainly not wanting a repeat of the other night, she took a calming breath. John had been right; she was too emotionally involved to be a fixer. Her girls needed her to be strong but not hard. They needed her to focus on determining who would want to hurt her so much by taking the ones she valued more than her life?

The soft knock at her office door, pulled her out of her deep thoughts. Her features that had been schooled into an emotionless mask, softened as she caught sight of her guest. "Joss . . ."

"Hey, girl, I didn't have a chance to see you earlier today. How are you doing?" the dark-haired, brown-eyed NYPD detective asked, worry written on her face.

"Let me guess, John asked you to check on me didn't he? I can't believe him, you have better things to do than act as my shrink," Zoe said through gritted teeth with a harsher tone than necessary.

"Uh-uh girl, don't you take that tone of voice with me," Joss said quirking her brow, with a hand at her waist. "Your husband is worried about you. And he should be," she continued.

"He needs to mind his own damn business, I'm fine. . . " Zoe shot back, not willing to admit that she was actually relieved to see Joss. Their friendship had started out tentatively with the only thing in common was that they both worked with John, on occasion. But since the birth of the twins, it had certainly blossomed into a close friendship bonded by motherhood. Joss was the doting, cool, auntie that every little girl wanted to have. She knew when to spoil them rotten and she knew when to be tough.

"Honey, let's be objective. You punched your husband . . . that is in no way fine." Joss' look was one of true concern and worry. "You know that I know what you're going through right?"

"I do, and I appreciate you and Lionel and Harold being here helping us . . . " Zoe wasn't quite ready to let it all out yet. Though she knew that there were only two people that she would let see her pain. Joss was one of them.

"Okay, then tell me what I can do to help you not bottle up your feelings," Joss said as she walked across the office to her friend. She watched as the fear, grief, and pain momentarily flashed into Zoe's eyes. But in an instant, the emotionless mask was back.

"It is okay for you to hurt, Zoe. It's okay for people to see that you're scared shitless that you'll never see your girls again," Joss sat on the edge of the desk and grabbed her friend's hand.

Zoe sighed, Joss was right. Joss had always been there for her family. Joss, who knew just which buttons to push to get the girls to do their chores; Joss, who had been Auntie Joss since before the girls were born. It was time to open up to her friend as she had opened up to her husband in the years since the children were born. She told her of her fears that she will never see her girls again and that it was her fault, for pissing off someone unbalanced enough to take her girls from her. Zoe was able to let go of some of the fear, anger, and guilt that had been building up.

"You know that none of this is your fault. None of it, girl, do you hear me? You were doing your job. You can't worry about every asshole that gets his feelings hurt or that probably deserved to be in jail in the first place. And it definitely isn't your fault that those jack-asses drugged you up and took your girls."

Zoe watched as Joss' eyes filled with worry and concern. "And, I'll let you in on a little secret. The world doesn't revolve around you girl. It isn't all about you, but about those two little muchkins," Joss quipped, an easy grin on her face.

 


	8. Taken Again!

* * *

John looked across the street at the entrance of the homeless shelter. The building was made of plain, red brick. Nothing in its facade made it distinguishable from the other buildings that surrounded it. The sign above the front door was very low key as well. He had hated to leave Zoe by herself at home, but he had needed to follow up on this lead. His anxiety was tempered when Joss had arrived as he was leaving.

He'd lived in places like this, once upon a time. He didn't care for it now anymore now than he had when he'd been forced to seek refuge in such an environment. Ever since Harold had found him and gave him a purpose for living, John considered himself lucky. When he and Harold started on this journey of protecting the irrelevant, he never thought, never even dreamed that he would survive past that first year. Yet, here he was years down the line, he had a wife, two beautiful little girls, and another child on the way. Who would have thought?

Taking a deep breath, John walked across the street toward the front door of the shelter. It was mid-afternoon, most of the residents would be long gone, it would be as good a time as any to ask the head of the shelter a few questions.

"You're not allowed in here until after five . . ." came a tired voice, accompanied by the wan face of a man coming out of the back office. "Whoa!" he exclaimed when he saw John. "I'm sorry, I thought you were one of the …"

"No, I'm not," John agreed evenly. "I'm here to see Jake Muller."

"That's me . . ." The man said motioning for John to follow him into the back office. "Have a seat," he directed John to the couch. "Is this about that idiot brother of mine, got himself killed?" He asked, as if it were common place that strangers came in looking for information about his brother.

"Do you have any idea who he was working for before he died?" John asked.

Jake cringed and shook his head. "Roy told me nothing. To be honest, I never asked. Plausible deniability. I never wanted to know," he spoke in disgust.

"Do you know anyone else that might know what Roy was up to?"

"Nope," Jake shook his head again. "Roy didn't make many friends. He and that Buddy hung out with another friend from way back. Can't remember his name, but he did good for himself. Keith, Jim, Peter, I'm so bad with names, was a carpenter or something like that."

"Here's a number you can call if you remember anything else," John said, handing Jake a folded slip of paper. "Well, thank you for your time."

"Good luck," Jake called out, not even bothering to rise.

* * *

He watched her as she drove up; the time had come. His heart soared as she got out of her car and smiled at him in greeting. Waving his hand, he smiled back at her thinking that it had been so easy; getting her to come by herself. He gripped the cloth in his hands, behind his back, glad that after the long wait, she was his.

"I'm glad you were able to make it," he whispered, as he brushed a strand of brown hair out of her eyes. He realized his mistake when her eyes widened in shock at his touch. He sighed, silently cursing himself as he crashed the cloth on her face. He saw the realization dawn on her as the drugs took effect and she went limp and unconscious in his arms. She was finally his and he would be damned if he let anyone take her from him.

She should never have been so trusting, coming to meet him by herself. He knew he had appeared harmless, a stuttering, shy, man. Picking her up, he kissed her gently on the lips. He smiled when he took her to his car, looking around for good measure, making sure no one was around to stop him. Gently, he puts her in the car, kissing her once again before wrapping a blanket round her and shut the door.

* * *

Jossie and Gracie fought their fear as they heard the door unlocking. It had been days since the man had taken Gracie and Jossie from Roy and Buddy. They still didn't know what he looked like because he never came to see them. He left food for them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He brought them books to read and some toys, but other than that, they never saw or heard him.

"Jossie? Gracie?" a commanding voice called out as the door was pushed open. "Answer me!"

"Y-yes sir?" Jossie responded.

"If you promise to be good and not try to run, I have a surprise for you girls." the man said in a sing-song voice.

"We p-promise to be good sir," Jossie replied looking at her sister, shrugging her shoulders.

"Such polite little girls you are, you're momma taught you well didn't she?" The voice said, still not coming around the door.

"Our daddy did too. He said to always say sir or ma'am and to never forget please and thank you," Jossie added thinking that would score some points with the man.

"Of course I did . . ." the man replied causing both girls' brows to furrow in confusion. That voice wasn't their Daddy's voice.

Both girls gasp as the man stepped around the door, carrying their Mommy in his arms.

"Mr. Winters," Gracie said her eyes even more confused than before. Mr. Winters had always been nice to them. He brought them candy when he came to work on their house.

"Why are you doing this? Why is Mommy asleep?" Jossie asked, just as confused as her sister.

"She's just resting," Winters said with a laugh, ambling towards the bed and laying Zoe down next to the girls.

"Where's our daddy, Mr. Winters?"

"I'm your daddy now, girls. And once your mommy comes to her senses, we'll be one happy family."

"But Mr. Winters . . . we already have a daddy." Jossie pointed out.

"No!" he shouted, almost slapping her as she shrank away from him. "It's Daddy, not Mr. Winters! Get it right or you won't be part of this family."

Jossie and Gracie were scared, the man they had known for the past three months never shouted and was nice. This Mr. Winters was very scary.

Kyle Winters watched the girls shrink away from him. Sighing, he left them alone with their mother. She would explain it to them. For all their sakes, she better get through to those girls. Because he was starting to realize that they were maybe more trouble than they were worth.

* * *

John shook his head, never in his life had he ever felt so incompetent. In the span of just three days, his daughters and then his wife had been taken from him. After the girls were taken, he should have not let Zoe out of his sight. He assumed that even after the girls had been taken from his home, that it was still safe because they had re-fortified it. With no one coming or going that they hadn't cleared in the past. He should have known better, than to assume that she would be safe because she had insisted that he follow up on the lead at the homeless shelter. He assumed, and damn it, he was wrong. Nothing was one hundred percent full proof.

Joss, Finch and Fusco looked helplessly on as their friend was being torn apart by guilt and fear. None of them would ever forgive themselves if anything happened to John's family; they knew they had to find them soon.

John looked out the window, and then towards the picture frames on Zoe's desk. He picked up the one holding the picture of Zoe and the girls. Their smiling faces begging him to come get them.

"Just hang in there," He whispered to the photograph, his fingers caressing their radiant smiles.

"We're going to find them John, they are tough, Zoe's with the girls I'm sure and she will do whatever it takes," Joss said, and put a hand on John's shoulder. He nodded; his fingers hesitant to leave the girls' faces. Excusing himself, he muttered something about wanting some time alone. He knew his wife would protect their girls with her life. But who would protect her? It was his job to protect her, his and none else's. God, he had never felt so helpless in his entire life.

He locked himself in the hallway bathroom. Finally letting go, tears started falling down his face. Tears of frustration, anger, and fear. His family had been taken and he hadn't a clue why or how to find them.

His short jaunt towards self-pity was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Wiping the tears away, he answered with a harsh, "What!"

"Uh, yeah, this is Jake Mullen; you came in this afternoon to ask me about my brother?"

"Yes . . ."

"I remembered the name of that guy Roy and Buddy hung out with back in the day . . . he wasn't a carpenter. He was a builder. He works as a general contractor and does home renovations. His name's . . ."

"Kyle Winters?" John guessed.

"Yeah, that's him. If anyone would know what my idiot brother was up to, it would be him. I gotta warn you though; Roy always said he was a bit weird. His wife and kids were killed in a freak home invasion a couple of years back. He's never been the same since. "

 


	9. Where Are You?

* * *

"Mommy, wake up . . ." Jossie said gently patting her mother's face, trying to rouse her.

"C'mon Mommy, please wake up . . ." Gracie added, hoping their mother would wake up and help them figure out a way to get out of crazy Mr. Winter's house.

Zoe's eyes fluttered once, twice, then opened completely. Quite disoriented, she wasn't prepared to see her baby girls staring down at her. She gasped as she sat up, leaned against the wall and pulled her girls to her, hugging them to her chest. "Oh, my babies!" She wrapped her arms around the girls, wincing as her head throbbed, rocking her girls back and forth.

"Mommy? Mr. Winters is acting really weird. He wants us to call him Daddy, but he's not. Daddy's our Daddy. . . " Jossie said crinkling her brow.

"Oh baby, Mr. Winters is just a little confused," Zoe said, but what she really meant was that he was psychotic. She hated that she had let this happen. All those weeks, feeling as if someone was following her, watching her, why didn't she see it? How could she have let it get this far?

Zoe was berating herself for not telling anyone where she was going. Kyle had called, saying he had gotten more of the samples she wanted, but that he wasn't able to get to her house. Idiot that she was, she offered to meet him. How was she going to get the girls out of this?

* * *

He watched them as he walked into the room, his girls. Feeling proud of himself, he brought them a tray of their favorite food and drinks; juice for the girls, coffee for Zoe. Relishing the thought that he was taking care of them, he continued to observe them. Seeing all three of them, made his heart beat with joy. His girls were together, at last.

He loved seeing Zoe's protective stance with her girls. The stance indicating she would do everything she could to protect them. It was what had attracted him to her in the first place. Not her beauty and certainly not her abrupt manner.

Sensing danger as soon as the door opened, the girls sunk further into their mother's arms. They kept their wary eyes on him. Heaving a sigh, he took in their pale faces. They shouldn't be afraid of him, he was their Daddy. He would always protect them, just like their momma.

He laid the tray on the floor, smiling at Zoe and the girls. Zoe stared at the food, no doubt calculating the odds that it was safe for her girls to eat and that it wasn't laced with any drugs that would force them to sleep.

"Zoe?" He whispered as he knelt down and smiled at her when she looked at him, nothing but anger and contempt in her eyes. Her eyes turned to the gun at his waist.

"Why are you doing this Kyle? You're scaring the girls."

Lifting both of his hands up, "I won't hurt you or them, Zoe. I love you, and we're finally going to be together as a family." Not knowing how to respond to his ridiculous speech, she just stared at him. She wanted to shout at him and tell him off. He had already hurt her and the girls by taking them by force.

"It's going to be okay now. You're all safe with me." He reached out to her, lightly brushing her brown hair out of her face. Fighting the urge to flinch, Zoe bit her lip. She couldn't let her girls sense her repulsion and fear.

"You'll see, it will all make sense once we leave," he said, picking up the take out cup of coffee cup and smiling as he handed it to her. "It's what you drink every day, from your favorite coffee shop." She looked from him to the coffee for a moment. She needed to play along with him, she knew John would come for them, he always did.

"Thank you," she replied as she took the cup, her hand shaking as she did so. Avoiding his gaze, her eyes wandered around the room hoping to find something that would help them escape if they had a chance. Play along, don't make him upset and they may just get out of here unscathed.

* * *

John was surprised to realize that it was night again, the sky was completely dark and starless. Looking down at the watch on his wrist, he pulled his cell phone out from his pocket as it rang.

"What can you tell me about Kyle Winters, Finch?" John asked, his fingers fiddling with Zoe's rings. He had found them on the bathroom sink as if she had just taken them off to wash her hands when she left to meet Kyle Winters the day before.

"Up until eighteen months ago, Mr. Winters was a run of the mill father and husband. He was a contractor and a successful one at that. He would buy houses that were in disrepair, then fix them up and turn a profit. A year and a half ago, his wife Patty and daughters, Lily, age 7, and Sarah, age 5 were killed in a home invasion. A couple of juvenile delinquents infiltrated their home hoping to get some money and got a little trigger happy, accidentally shot the little girls and the mother. He was away on business when it happened," Finch responded.

"Are there any properties close by?"

"I'm sending you the viable properties thus far. I'm still plowing through his property records. He's purchased several in the past few years as investments. I'm afraid it will take some time."

"Time is something we don't have Finch. Every minute that we don't know where they are is another minute he could be doing God knows what . . ." John stopped to breathe as his voiced cracked. It had been twenty four hours since Zoe was taken; forty-eight since the girls. Forty-eight hours pure hell. Not knowing where they were, only knowing that an unstable individual had taken them and God only knew what he was subjecting them to.

The disappearance of the girls and Zoe was starting to tax everyone. Carter and Fusco were pulling extra hours at work just to see if they could track anything down about Winters and his various properties. Bear was lying on the floor whining with his head in his paws.

Not surprising was how the situation had taxed John. He isolated himself from the others, devouring whatever he could get his hands on about Winters, his properties, construction sites, anything and he would check each and every one of them.

"Normally, I wouldn't ask you this, but given the circumstances . . . How are you holding up? You sound tired."

"This is much worse than a random number, Finch," John quipped staring out into the darkness. "I can't help but to imagine how frightened all of them are, the girls have been with him for two days, Zoe for one."

"We're going to find them, John."

"I hope we do soon, Finch." John clicked the phone off and scrolled through the information Finch had just sent him.

Giving in to the rage and aggravation that stormed inside of him, John swore and cleared Zoe's desk of all the paper work and threw them on the floor. His heart was rumbling violently inside his chest, feeling as if the walls were closing in on him. He had to get out, he had to do something. God, this must have been what Zoe was feeling two nights ago when she was ready to just drive around without a plan.

The air inside felt heavy and dense, almost suffocating him. He quickly changed into running gear and just took off. Once he was outside, he was able to draw in a deep, calming breath. He started to run, the thumps of his feet on the ground, lulled him to a place in his mind that was calm and structured. On he ran, his mind methodically going through the information Finch had sent him.

Lost in the misery and despair of his helplessness, John aimlessly ran while still going through each and every possibility in his mind. He was running in the dark, but he didn't care, he thought best in the dark. Finally making it back to their home, he sank to his knees on the front lawn. Guilt and fear consumed him; guilt for allowing harm to come to his family; fear for not being quick enough to find them. Never had he loathed himself as much as he did at that moment.

And in an instant, he wasn't sure what tripped it, but he had a revelation. He knew without a doubt where Winters would keep his girls.

 


	10. Rescue

* * *

Hell bent on reaching his family, John wrapped his hands firmly around the steering wheel as he guided the car to the remote location of Kyle Winters' mother-in-law's home. It had been left to him upon his wife's death and in fact had still been in his wife's name. John's gut was telling him that his family would be there.

They had been constants in his existence for the past few years, he couldn't, wouldn't think of life without them. As his old CIA partner had said, they were the dark. And he had believed her, at least, until he was given a purpose by Harold and until his girls were born. In his dreary existence of gray areas, their presence alone brought the vibrancy of color and the brilliance of light. They were proof that something good could come from him and that they were a form of redemption for past sins.

The ring of his cell phone brought him out of his dark thoughts. "Yes," he answered.

"John! What the hell is going on?" Joss asked, anger and frustration evident in her voice. "Finch called and said you were on a tear. I'm about twenty minutes behind you, don't you move without me."

"Joss, I'm not sure I can wait," John replied.

"If you value the lives of your wife and baby girls you will. Damn it, John! You know better than to go in without backup. You don't know how unstable this yahoo really is."

"He has my girls, Joss!"

"I know that John. What good would you be to them dead? You need to calm your ass down, do you hear me? Wait . . . for . . . me!" Joss commanded.

"Twenty minutes, Joss, that' all I'm giving you, after that, with or without you, I'm going in," John growled, before disconnecting.

Turning his attention back on the road, John resumed his search for the correct turnoff point. Reaching up, he grasped Zoe's rings. He had threaded them through the links of his St. Michael's medallion Zoe had given him one Christmas. "Hang on girls. I'm coming for you." He whispered.

Spotting his turnoff point, John maneuvered the car carefully on the gravel path, he turned off the car lights and coasted down towards the house and pulling to a stop several hundred yards away. Slipping his gun in the back of the waistband of his trousers, John let his eyes wander as he scanned the area for anything threatening.

Reasonably sure that he hadn't alerted the inhabitants of the home of his presence, he climbed out of the car and made his way into the woods. John stealthily made his way through the woods wanting to scout around and make sure he knew what was in store for him when he and Joss went in.

As the trees thinned out, John was surprised to find himself on a neatly maintained lawn. From the information he had gathered, no one had been living here for quite some time. Yet it appeared as though the exterior of the large brick home as well as the front lawn was well maintained. Reaching behind him, he pulled his gun from the small of his back and checked the clip. As he was making his way towards the house, he happened to look up and saw Zoe standing at the window looking out, seemingly right at him. She sensed him, even though she couldn't see him. He wasn't surprised; he often sensed her presence before actually seeing her. Sending her silent reassurances that he was there, he continued taking stock of the home. Once satisfied that he knew the lay of the land, he quietly made his way back to his car through the woods to wait for Joss.

* * *

Zoe stood by the window looking out. Staring out the outcropping of trees, she KNEW he was close.

"Girls, I need you to listen to me," Zoe said in a whisper, as she knelt down in front of them. "I want both of you to go into the closet and don't come out unless I or Daddy tell you to come out okay?"

The girls perked up. "Daddy's here?" Relief evident in their voices.

Though relieved at the thought that their Daddy had come, she could tell that the girls were still frightened. "But Mommy, what about you?" Gracie asked as their mommy led them to the closet.

"Don't worry about me sweetheart, I have to stay out here in case Mr. Winters checks on us okay? He'll notice me missing but he may not notice if you girls are," she said as she knelt down in front of them after settling them in the closet. "I love you!"

"We love you too mommy, please be careful."

Hearing the commotion downstairs, Zoe quickly shut the closet door. Spotting the heavy wooden tray Winters had brought their food in, she picked it up and shrunk into the wall. Taking a deep breath, she waited. The door opened and she was ready to use the tray as a weapon.

* * *

Joss pulled over and parked the car as John finished loading the guns. "Am I correct in assuming you went ahead and checked out the house?"

John looked across the hood of Joss' car and nodded. "Winters is in the kitchen, Zoe's upstairs in the front bedroom. I'm pretty sure she knew I was here," He paused as he continued to scan the area. "I didn't see any surveillance, I don't think he'll know we're coming."

"What if he does?"

"Let's just hope he doesn't," John replied back, trying to reassure Joss. John handed Joss one of the guns he was holding. Before setting off for the woods, he commented, "Give me five minutes once I enter the woods." He was about to step out when Joss grabbed his left arm, forcing him to stay put.

As John gave her a questioning look, Joss explained, "You're okay to do this right? I don't have to make sure you don't go all kamikaze on me?"

"I won't jeopardize their safety," he rasped softly; scanning the area one more time. Finding nothing amiss, he looked back at Joss and said, "Good luck."

Joss flashed him a weak smile. "You too." With that, John was running off into the woods.

* * *

After waiting five minutes, Joss got back in her car and headed towards the house. She could feel the apprehension growing as she got closer to the house. As the house loomed before her, Joss eased on the gas, slowly coming to a stop. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she opened the door and got out.

She slowly walked over to the front door and knocked. As Kyle Winters opened the door, Joss carefully taking in his appearance. He looked cool, calm, as if he didn't have anything to worry about. "Detective Carter, how can I help you?"

Every instinct in her body was telling her to grab her gun from her holster, but she didn't want to spook the contractor. "I'm sorry to bother you, this late Mr. Winters. I tried to find you at your home, but your neighbors said you were probably here," she offered him a smile. "May I come in, I just have a few questions for you."

Turning his attention from Joss, Kyle glanced behind her. "Come in, please."

Joss hoped she could pull this off. Part of their plan was for her to distract the contractor, while John would come in through the back door and stealthily locate the girls and Zoe, thus avoiding the use of guns if they could.

* * *

John made it to the back of the house before Carter arrived. He was able to confirm that Joss and Winters were in the front living room; leaving the back clear for him. He jogged his way towards the back door and was able to quietly pick the lock. Getting the door open, he remained in a crouched position for a few beats, expecting a home alarm to go off. Grateful that nothing did, he took his gun out and slowly walked through the kitchen towards the back stairs.

As he made it to the upstairs landing, he headed towards the front room where he had seen Zoe. After a few seconds checking the rooms as he went, he finally made it to the front room. Checking the door knob, he started to work at picking the lock. He paused, listening for any clue that Winters was headed upstairs, but couldn't hear anything except the soft conversation coming from the living room downstairs. Turning his attention back to the lock, he worked for a few more beats before he was successful.

Carefully, he started to walk in before he felt a whiff of air. Instinctively, he lifted his arm as a wooden object came crashing down. Acting on pure adrenaline, he blocked it and wrestled the with the assailant until they both ended up on the floor. John suddenly recognized the feel of the body beneath his. "Zoe?"

"John?" He watched as Zoe instantly bolted up, and scooted away from him. Finally focusing on his face and voice, Zoe visibly sagged. "Oh Jesus, I'm so glad you're here . . . "

John quickly walked up to his wife. Putting his hands up in defense he said gently, but urgently, "Listen, we need to move fast, our little scuffle probably alerted Winters. Where are the girls?"

"Daddy!" Jossie screeched as they bounded out of the closet.

"Jocelyn Elizabeth! What did I say about coming out?" her mother said exasperated.

"But Mommy, we heard Daddy . . ."

"We have to get out of here . . . the window, quick," John said as they heard thumping up the stairs and it was clear that running out the door and into the hallway was not a choice at the moment.

John took the lead and opened the window. He got out first, then held his arms out to the girls, silently thanking Taylor for teaching them the art of tree climbing. Though Zoe was not pleased when she found torn tights and stained silk dresses, Taylor, much like his mother was, easily forgiven. When both girls were finally on their way down the tree and Zoe was just stepping out of the window, their luck run out.

Kyle Winters came through the door with his gun drawn aiming right at Zoe. Behind him, Zoe could see Joss, her own gun drawn. "Mr. Winters, I need you to put the gun down . . . "

With a hint of hysteria in his voice, Kyle shook his head and said, "No, she can't leave me, we're supposed to be together. We were going to take the girls and run away together . . ."

Keeping her gun on Kyle, Joss tried to reason with him again. "Kyle, you need to let Zoe go. She's not your wife."

"Kyle please, let me go. . . if you let me go now, that will be the end of it. We won't press charges, we won't come after you . . . " Zoe held her arms up in defense, trying to reason with him.

Kyle shook his head, not believing her. "But, I thought you cared for me. That you wanted us to be together . . ."

"We can't be together Kyle, my girls need me . . . and I'm . . ."

"Zoe, we have to go. . . " John said from the ground.

Upon hearing John's voice, Kyle panicked fearing that he would lose Zoe for good. He aimed to fire a warning shot.

"Kyle, put the gun down," Joss demanded.

Kyle wasn't going to give in . . .

* * *

For a mere fraction of a second, Zoe hesitated. Her lean frame was already prepared for escape out the window. A few more seconds and she would have been out the window and to freedom. But something stopped her. John could see her indecision as she looked back into the room, then down at him and the girls.

"Zoe, we have to go . . ." John urged her from the ground, even as he suspected that Kyle Winters was in the room with a gun pointed right at her. He was just hoping that Joss wasn't far behind. He could hear muffled words, from Joss, from Kyle, then from Zoe.

Everything from that point on seemed to happen so slowly and nothing else around him seemed to exist. John heard two distinct gunshots, the girls were screaming, he saw Zoe jerk back a split second before she started to fall out the window. He could only stand there and watch as the scene played out. The force of the bullet propelled her out the window. There was nothing for her to hold on to, he knew that.

He couldn't close his eyes to the foreseeable; something he couldn't recognize forced him to watch as she continued to fall. Somehow, their eyes met. Her eyes bore into his with such intensity; even from the distance he could see the fear in those brown pools. Her eyes had always been so expressive. When he couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling, all he had to do was look into her eyes and witness a range of emotion. All he could do was stare back, unable to breathe. It felt like minutes though he knew in reality it was no more than a few seconds.

Expecting to hear a thud when her body made contact with the ground, he was surprised when instead he heard the crunch of breaking branches followed by words that his daughters shouldn't have heard coming from their mother's mouth. "Motherfucker! That hurt like a son of a bitch! Jesus H. Christ, Joss you better have gotten that asshole or I swear to God I'll castrate him myself and feed him his balls!"

Looking towards his wife, John was amazed that she was still in one piece. A huge evergreen bush had broken her fall and clearly, she was absolutely fine but for the graze of a bullet on her shoulder.

"Oooooh, Mommy's going to have to put a lot of money in the swear jar!"

 


	11. Epilogue

* * *

Zoe glanced at the slight bump on her belly and laid a comforting hand on it and smiled to herself. The native was restless today. She couldn't blame him, his sisters had some friends over and they were a rowdy bunch of Princesses. It was cool out; early signs of spring were all around. The girls had recovered well from their ordeal with Kyle Winters. Joss indeed had wounded him enough to be able to subdue him.

Three months after being taken, it was a new season; a new beginning for them. She sat in their back yard watching the girls run around in their Princess costumes, screaming their lungs out, seemingly carefree once again.

"Girl, are you sure you have another bun in the oven?"

She smiled at the gentle, teasing tone. "Hi Joss," she greeted, looking up to see the familiar outline of Auntie Joss.

"Mind if I take a seat?" Joss asked.

She shook her head in reply and watched her friend take the deck chair next to her. They both watched the "fashion show" the Princesses were putting on. Taylor, their prince, was gallantly escorting them down the "red carpet."

"The girls look good, well adjusted considering . . . " Joss uttered, looking specifically at Jossie and Gracie. They were walking on either side of Taylor as it was their turn for to walk the walk.

Smiling at Joss comment, Zoe explained. "They still have a few nightmares once in a while and occasionally they'll come running into our bedroom just to make sure we're still there. Gracie has just blossomed into this confident little girl, gives back as much as she gets from Jossie. And Jossie," she paused, shaking her head in remorse. "I rue the day I fell out of that window. She learned way too much and as such puts a lot of sailors to shame . . . "

"I have to admit to being somewhat surprised. Girl, you have such a potty mouth, who knew?" Joss shot her a crooked smile.

"I never thanked you," Zoe whispered honestly. Without Joss grounding John, they may never have made it to this point. Joss was their rock, their voice of reason. Whenever she and John came out swinging, she always calmed them down and made them see.

"You and John would have done the same for me," Joss smiled. "Of that, I'm positive." Joss never had to remind herself that her Taylor wouldn't be here without John's intervention.

For the first time in a long time, Zoe was able to relax. The horror of almost losing her family had started to fade in the past three months. Just then, she felt a swift kick. Rubbing her hand over her belly, she tried to calm their little boy. "I know buddy, you feel him too huh?" Though she hadn't seen John yet, she knew he was close. She had always felt this odd tingle at the back of her neck when he was near.

A bright smile appeared on her lips as soon as a shadow moved across them. Joss cleared her throat and stood up heading towards the back lawn where the girls were now jumping on Taylor. "That's my cue to rescue my boy from your girls."

"John," she said smiling up at him.

"Zoe," he responded, leaning down and giving her a peck on her lips.

As he was often fond of doing, he picked her up out of her chair as if she didn't weigh any more than Jossie or Gracie, took her seat and settled her across his lap. He gathered her close and laid a hand on her belly. She continued to smile at him, her eyes taking in every inch of his face then settled her head on his shoulder. They sat in companionable silence as they watched their girls and their friends terrorize Taylor and his momma.

"How did we get so lucky?" she whispered.

"Luck has nothing to do with it," he whispered back studying what he could of her features, searching for answers.

Zoe felt her stomach flip as he said that; thinking to herself what she had ever done to deserve having him in her life.

As if hearing the silent question, John answered. "WE deserve this because it's right. We deserve this life we chose with our family. Don't ever question it."

The End


End file.
